


By the Fire

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 11:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5246777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was just his luck, to get stuck in the cave. During a snowstorm. When his kids were sick and injured and <i>needed</i> him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By the Fire

**Author's Note:**

> a winter holidays 2014 tumblr prompt
> 
> Hmm this is a lot less of a story and more of a scene? Dick figured getting locked in the cave was proper punishment for going down there in the first place, so that’s why he didn’t bother to try and help Bruce out. Instead, he took used the time to corral his siblings into the room with the fire. Titus and Alfred-cat were at the clock because they knew Damian wanted his dad, so wanted to help, but after a while Titus gave up himself to go back to his baby. I don’t know what Dick and Jason are talking about. Probably Bruce, maybe Roy, maybe dumb criminals.

Bruce kept pushing at the door, getting more and more frustrated each second. Sometimes he hated the twenty-first century. He hated that everything was electronic. Because electronics fail. All it takes is one good hit of the power source and a whole neighborhood could go down. A whole city.

Like now.

The bats skittered around above him, annoyed by the commotion he was making. Yeah, well. If they had any ideas of how to get the clock entrance open, he was all ears.

He heard Titus behind the foot of steel, scratching at the door’s seam. Through the cave rocks he could hear the snowy wind blow, could feel the draft it created in this dark basement.

He could already hear one of his children’s smug voices.

 _“Should have just left it alone, like we_ told _you.”_

But no, he couldn’t. Of course he couldn’t. He never could. He had to run the forensics one more time, he had to do maintenance of the main car, had to train.

And then the storm knocked the power. Two hours ago.

A coolness was starting to set in, and he was pretty sure his flashlight was running low on batteries. Not like it mattered. He’d been in worse conditions.

No, what mattered was Cassandra was sick, and Tim was quickly catching the same bug. What mattered was Damian had broken his arm a few nights before, gotten himself a hefty concussion. What mattered was Dick had been stabbed in the leg, the attacker just missing his femoral artery.

And Alfred only had so many hands to take care of them.

What mattered was they needed him. The concussion was making Damian’s mind hazy, and more often than not paranoid. He needed reassurance – that everything was okay, that everyone was safe, that there were no enemies around – and he could only trust Dick’s word so far. Cassandra had already jerked awake from nightmares more times than anyone could count, and Tim was rapidly following suit.

“Stupid.” He muttered, pounding his knuckles against the steel with each repetition. “Stupid, stupid, _stupid_!”

There was a judgmental meow from the other side of the clock.

The torch flickered and that was it. Bruce had had enough. He slammed his shoulder into the barrier, putting all of his weight into it. He felt the door give – not much, but enough. He stuffed his fingers in the small gap, pulling it to the side with all his might. His fingers slipped over and over, his nails were getting completely destroyed, but he didn’t care.

Finally, after what seemed like another few hours, but was probably only another twenty minutes, he’d pushed the door far enough that he could slip through. It was tight, there would probably be a few light scratches on his chest when he checked later, but he managed.

When he fell into the room, there was another meow. Alfred the cat was sitting in the study entryway, watching with boredom.

“Let’s go.” Bruce sulked. The cat didn’t hesitate, turning on its heel and trotting down the hallway. When they blindly turned a corner, Alfred the cat gave a light yelp of surprise as they more or less ran smack into Alfred the human.

“My word!” The older man exclaimed, jumping back. “Oh! You…you got yourself out. Good.” Bruce glanced down, taking in the old fire poker in Alfred’s hands. Alfred hastily tried to hide it behind his back. “I was just coming to assist you.”

“I appreciate it.” Bruce smiled. “How are the…”

“Doing well.” Alfred assured, glancing at his feline counterpart as the cat continued his path, ducking into a room nearby. He turned and waved his arm out for Bruce to take the lead. “Sleeping, for the most part. By the fire.”

Bruce followed the path of the cat – who, much like Titus, made it his life mission to remain at Damian’s side as often as possible – and paused at the doorway, looking into the sitting room.

There was an almost immediate temperature change from the hallway. The corridor was chilly, just as cool as the cave. But here, in one of the smaller rooms of the house, it was warm and comfortable. Not completely silent, not with the pleasant crackling of burning wood. Despite the late afternoon hour, and despite the lack of lights – both electrical and from the window, since the snow was so high – the room was practically glowing, both from the fire heating the area and the candles dispersed around the room.

Dick was slumped in the center of the sofa, each arm slung across the shoulders of Cassandra and Tim, who were both nestled into his sides. The three of them had a large comforter both across their laps and around their backs. Bruce could see and hear Dick talking softly. Cassandra’s eyes were barely open, shimmering in the bright firelight, while Tim was completely unconscious. Even snoring a little.

Damian was asleep on the floor, balled against Titus’s flank, who in turn was curled protectively around his little boy. Probably to keep him warm, since Damian seemed to forgone having a blanket, or maybe to soothe him in the case of night terrors. Bruce watched as the cat stepped daintily up Damian’s legs, carefully settling at the crook of his knees. The child was so coiled, his knees were almost next to his face, and Alfred was close enough to give Damian a gentle lick on the nose.

Most surprisingly, though, was the fact that Jason was sitting next to the bundle, Titus’s head in his lap, fingers gently stroking at the dog’s ears. He too had a large comforter cocooned around him, and was apparently the target of Dick’s conversation.

“Ah, yes.” Alfred said beside him. “Master Jason arrived not long after you went to the cave. Said he, Miss Kori and Master Roy found some medicine that might help Miss Cassandra while traveling the stars. His bike got stuck halfway here, though. Even had to use a roof hatch to get into the manor. So he decided to stay until morning at least.” Alfred hesitated slightly, then. “…Especially after he saw your son’s concussion symptoms flare up again, and Master Richard was already preoccupied with the others.”

Jason suddenly smiled at whatever Dick was saying. Cassandra also tried to smile, but the effort clearly exhausted her. Regardless, both of their eyes sparkled with content, something they didn’t seem to do often.

“Good.” Bruce muttered in relief. “Very good.”

“I’m sure you panicked when the power went out. No worries, sir. We’ve got it all handled.” Alfred nodded proudly. “But since you’re here now, come help me in the kitchen. Despite the lack of power, I’m sure the two of us can figure out how to make a spot of tea. Don’t you agree, sir?”

“Yeah.” Bruce hummed, smiling as Tim flopped his arm across Dick’s torso. As the middle son gave a loud, nasally snort. As Dick tossed his head back in silent laughter and Jason threw a hand over his mouth to stifle his own. He gave the room one last sweeping look before ducking away. “…yeah.”

“We’ll also find some more blankets,” Alfred continued knowingly as they moved through the corridor. “For when you inevitably join them.”

Alfred pretended not to notice Bruce’s pace quicken as the younger man chuckled. “Right behind you, Alfred.”


End file.
